Very short video from FATS

For anyone who's never ridden FATS just outside Augusta, GA here's a very short clip taken from the Skinny, which is the easiest Loop at FATS. Imagine this only, steeper, and bigger, and faster and that's what Deep Step looks like.

That place looks like so much fun........ I keep trying to plan a trip over there from Athens, but something always gets in the way. The last trip got cancelled, because I blew out my shock two days prior. The trip before that, it rained for 3 days. The trip before that, my buddy's wife decided to have a baby a week early (I think she did it on purpose to spite me)

I'm heading up to Columbia SC on Oct.10 so I'll be driving right past FATS. I think that it would be a deadly sin to pass by & not ride. My dedication to the Church of the Sweet Singletrack requires that I must make a pilgramage to FATS.

If anybody has a Wednesday afternoon off & wants to show a visitor around.......

The standing eight count & three knockdown rules are in effect on this trail.

I'm heading up to Columbia SC on Oct.10 so I'll be driving right past FATS. I think that it would be a deadly sin to pass by & not ride. My dedication to the Church of the Sweet Singletrack requires that I must make a pilgramage to FATS.

If anybody has a Wednesday afternoon off & wants to show a visitor around.......

Oooo I hate you. I've been trying to figure out a way to get up to FATS for a while now.

I'm heading up to Columbia SC on Oct.10 so I'll be driving right past FATS. I think that it would be a deadly sin to pass by & not ride. My dedication to the Church of the Sweet Singletrack requires that I must make a pilgramage to FATS.

If anybody has a Wednesday afternoon off & wants to show a visitor around.......

Ed,

you have good timing.

From the SORBA CSRA homepage.....FATS will be closed to ALL users except hunters from October 11 till October 24 for deer hunting. There is no hunting on Sundays, therefore FATS will be open Sunday October 14 & 21 to ALL users.

While this isn't great, it is something we agreed to back in 2004 as an appeasment to the hunters that have used this area since...well forever.

I'd recommend CCW as your direction to ride on any of the loops.

I like Deep Step and Great Wall the best as the have the most elevation change. I think alot of others like The Brown Wave best as it has the least elevation change but is still alot of fun to ride.

From the SORBA CSRA homepage.....FATS will be closed to ALL users except hunters from October 11 till October 24 for deer hunting. There is no hunting on Sundays, therefore FATS will be open Sunday October 14 & 21 to ALL users.

While this isn't great, it is something we agreed to back in 2004 as an appeasment to the hunters that have used this area since...well forever.

I'd recommend CCW as your direction to ride on any of the loops.

I like Deep Step and Great Wall the best as the have the most elevation change. I think alot of others like The Brown Wave best as it has the least elevation change but is still alot of fun to ride.

Disclaimer #1. Only the four loops closest to the trailhead have been built.

Disclaimer #2. The milage shown on this map is not correct. Ignore those numbers.

Is there anything like that going on in November/December? I'm planning on taking a few days to tour some of the "must rides" in the southeast hopefully around the tail end of November.. Also is the end of November a good time to visit it or should I put it off until spring?

So what is the approximate mileage of each loop & which one is which? Red, blue, yellow?

Not sure about individual loop mileage. Paula and I have about 25-26 miles when we finish riding all four loops.

Looking at the map, the yellow loop in the middle (closest to the trailhead marker) is Deep Step. Moving toward the bottom of the map, the red trail is The Great Wall, the blue is Skinny and the second yellow is The Brown Wave.

The red and blue at the top of the map are future trails...yet to be built.

These are very fun trails. Plan on doing them all in one ride because they don't take too much out of you. Have you ever spent the day riding roller coasters and still feel the sensation of going up and down for a few hours after... these trails do that to me.

These are very fun trails. Plan on doing them all in one ride because they don't take too much out of you. Have you ever spent the day riding roller coasters and still feel the sensation of going up and down for a few hours after... these trails do that to me.

Reading things like this make me want to leave work right now and drive all the way to SC.

Is there any place to camp around FATS? I think I'm going to try and do a Pisgah, Tanasi, FATS, round trip whenever I finally get up to FATS so I'm gonna be pinchin pennies.

Reading things like this make me want to leave work right now and drive all the way to SC.

Is there any place to camp around FATS? I think I'm going to try and do a Pisgah, Tanasi, FATS, round trip whenever I finally get up to FATS so I'm gonna be pinchin pennies.

The FATS trailhead used to be a campground so its got running water in the form of a hand pump. There's also portajons there. I'd contact the USFS and get a primitive camping permit, and just camp there. Alternatively, Lick Fork Lake is about 10 miles north on 230. Its a designated USFS campground with showers etc. There's also a trail there: Horn Creek.

I hope those who wanted to ride FATS this past weekend actually got to ride FATS! Paula and I did!

I have to admit, she had to drag me to the truck to go Sunday morning. I was at a football game pretty much all day on Saturday. My rear was dragging from being out in the sun all day but, once we hit the trails...alll was right with the world for the next 3 hours!

The FATS trailhead used to be a campground so its got running water in the form of a hand pump. There's also portajons there. I'd contact the USFS and get a primitive camping permit, and just camp there. Alternatively, Lick Fork Lake is about 10 miles north on 230. Its a designated USFS campground with showers etc. There's also a trail there: Horn Creek.

I'd agree. But I would advise against camping there w/o the primitive permit. Very good chance you will get run out w/o the permit.

Call 803 637-5396. Ask for a primitive camping permit for the Old Forks Campground. This is behind the new parking lot.

Ed, .......From the SORBA CSRA homepage.....FATS will be closed to ALL users except hunters from October 11 till October 24 for deer hunting. There is no hunting on Sundays, therefore FATS will be open Sunday October 14 & 21 to ALL users.......

Thanks for the info.....hope to ride FATS Sunday Oct.14th as soon as I can get there from the Atlanta area if plans pan out. Despite Sunday hunting "ban", probably is best to wear orange and no antler helmets on Sunday

Thanks also for the maps.....whats with the carnage on The Brown Wave? Drainage ditches??

Sunday - Really no one hunts on Sundays on public property. Really. It would just like going deer hunting out of season. Heavy fines. People just don't do it.

The entire FATS is built on land that was farmed in cotton 100 years ago. It also sits on the fall line running thru Augusta. This 20 mile wide swath of land was the ocean front millions of years ago. It has topography unlike the rest of the area not inside this 20 mile wide "fall line". Therefore, FATS sits on land that has steeper hills, not tall, but steep. So, the cotton farming 100 years ago caused awful erosion in the form of deep ditches running down these hills. Our trails are on the contour, so we cross these ditches - often. In one section of The Brown Wave, the ditches are spaced tightly and one set in particular seems to give riders fits. We've worked them, reworked them and now have signed them as a place to ride with caution. People still ride out of control, get on their front wheel and crash hard. But the number of incidents is dwindling as the awareness increases.

Edited:

Actually this video goes thru The Brown Wave and the spot that has caused the most headers. It is where he does the small double. Nat hits it at 24 seconds into the video, and again at 46 seconds in. But overall, this video is a good representation of the terrian and roll of FATS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoWyd_tUnBE

Actually this video goes thru The Brown Wave and the spot that has caused the most headers. It is where he does the small double. Nat hits it at 24 seconds into the video, and again at 46 seconds in. But overall, this video is a good representation of the terrian and roll of FATS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoWyd_tUnBE

Tha vid just doesn't do that trail proper justice!

FATS has changed a LOT since that vid was shot. Looks like a different place now.

Ya that place really ROCKS! I am a transplant from California & have been riding for almost 20 years, been to Moab & have done the chair lift thing, lots-o-tech single track etc.,etc., When I hit this trail for the 1st time I was smiling big time ear to ear! The 1st thing I did was call my two favorite riding buddis back in so. cal. & told them of this incredible system. It is not technical at all just plain fun & some how it feels like you go down hill a whole lot more than uphill!!?? How do they do that!?? heh-heh! What a wonderful place to ride! ...Oh ya I drove 1.45 hours the very next weekend becaise I had so much fun on the 1st visit! I was going to go back this Sat till I read about the evil hunters! heh-heh!

It is not technical at all just plain fun & some how it feels like you go down hill a whole lot more than uphill!!?? How do they do that!?? heh-heh! h!

That's EXACTLY what I thought after I rode (I think) the Great Wall. I was blasting along trying not to let my grin mess up my brain when I got back to the starting point. I thought, wait, that's not right! I've been bombing downhill for 30 minutes or so & now it's time to pay up. Where's the climb out? You mean no climbing? Cool!

Seriously, kudos to the builders! This was major fun. I could imagine that all those whoop could become much more fun one you learn what is on the other side of them! I had to slow down much more that I wanted to because i didn't know the trail. At least that's the story I'm going with!

You might want to see about some better signage. Some places can be a bit confusing if you've never been there before.

You guys also need to make sure that it's listed in the Trail Review section here so I can rave some more! Thanks for a great ride!

Ed

The standing eight count & three knockdown rules are in effect on this trail.

You might want to see about some better signage. Some places can be a bit confusing if you've never been there before.

You guys also need to make sure that it's listed in the Trail Review section here so I can rave some more! Thanks for a great ride!

Ed

Signs are on order. We talked to RockArt today and they should be sending out nearly a hundred signs within nine days. (That will be our winter project, in addtion to assisting in the building of ten more miles of trails). We are all aware that better signage will make it less confusing for the out-of-towners! There's something to be said for having four loops emanating from a parking lot!

As far as the the review, all the loops are listed. Just look under Trails and South Carolina.

Have come across numerous hot, sweaty and tired boyz and galz sitting at the intersection of the GW and Sk (just below Skullz Alley and the gravel road) who had no clue where they were. Depending on their willingness to ride, ya either send'em to the top of Skullz Alley and have them take the gravel road back to the parking lot or just have them cross the gravel road and follow the singletrack back to the parking lot...Either way it is only .3 miles to the end...